Daughters of Isis
by Athena2010
Summary: Agent Mulder is persuing an X-File reguarding an ancient sect of Isis followers when he encounters Donovan of 'UC: Undercover.' Somehow "Spooky Mulder" must work together with the stoic Donovan in order to solve the case before it is too late.


The Daughters of Isis Rating: R (for violence and brief adult material) Disclaimer: I don't own any of the TDHG's, UC or X-Files agents. The 'Daughters' were of my own design and any reflection of these persons in real life is coincidental.  
  
*************  
  
Jake felt two hands move over his back and he turned his head quickly.  
  
"What are you doing?" he whispered.  
  
Heather laughed lightly and without removing her hand from his shoulder came to face him again as the flashing colored lights in the night club swirled around the mass of dancing bodies.  
  
"What is she doing?" Agent Rust said peering closer into the monitor located in the van.  
  
Donovan's gaze shifted casually from the screen to the red haired agent. "We lost audio. She needed to fix his mic."  
  
"That's not all she needed to..." Cody began, quietly under his breath, but paused in mid-sentence. Monica lifted an eyebrow.  
  
"We have taken flight," came Heather's voice and their attention returned to the flashing blue screens.  
  
"Should we pursue?" Jake asked, watching their target get up from his table and begin towards the front door.  
  
"Negative," Donovan replied after a short moment. "We'll have someone track him on the outside. You two are done in there."  
  
The red haired agent watched as Donovan rolled his shoulders back and stood up straight, taking it as a cue that their work was done here for the night. "I'm going in," she told the others, pushing the door open. She stretched and ventured into the club that felt alive, even from the outside.  
  
"So what now?" Cody asked, swiveling around in his chair to face Donovan.  
  
He unfolded his arms and let them drop to his sides. "We'll return to base, and see what they've got."  
  
*******  
  
Agent Bea tapped her pencil on the table located in the briefing area of the nest.  
  
"Alright," she sighed, shoving the pencil into her ponytail. "Anybody find anything else?"  
  
Sab yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Nada."  
  
Alex leaned back in her chair and glanced over in Bea's direction. "Perhaps it would be best if we let this go for tonight and took a fresh look at it in the morning?" Her tone held the slightest tone of irritation. They'd been pouring over case files for more hours than any of them wanted to count.  
  
"Yeah, I'm not seeing anything here," Dee reported, hastily shoving her pile of papers together.  
  
"Alright," Bea replied seeing the exhaustion beginning to set in on the agents' faces, "we'll try it again tomorrow morning."  
  
The agents dispersed, presumably to home and to bed, as Bea ascended the stairs and shut the door behind her in Donovan's office. She sat down at his desk and began neatly laying out the open case files. Her eyes touched over the government documents recording only minor infractions like speeding tickets for one Mr. Marvin Fillips. She wasn't even exactly sure just what she was looking for, but she hoped to find some kind of clue into the mind of the man they were tracking.  
  
"Have we found him yet?" Donovan asked as he shut the door behind him.  
  
Bea lifted her head from the desk. "No," she sighed.  
  
"You look exhausted," he said approaching her, and then flattened his hands against the desk surface.  
  
"You get anything at the club?"  
  
He nodded. "Tomorrow night at 12:30 they're meeting their middle-man."  
  
"Good," she said pulling the pencil out of her hair. She closed her eyes and sighed.  
  
"What is it?" came his smooth voice from across the table.  
  
Her features became tight and she pressed her lips together before she spoke. "I was just remembering a dream I had."  
  
"Care to share?" he asked as her eyes met his again.  
  
"I will just be glad when this case is over."  
  
Just then the phone rang, making them both jump as the sound echoed in his office. "Donovan," he announced as he lifted the receiver. In a brief moment, he hung up and began towards the door. "The museum got hit again. Artifacts were stolen from the shipment out of Cairo."  
  
"I'll start calling the team back in," she said picking up the receiver.  
  
"I want you with me," he said grabbing her jacket and handing it to her. "We'll page them on the way."  
  
"What's going on?" She followed him down the stairs, slipping her arms into her coat.  
  
"Our middle-man was shot dead at the scene."  
  
Bea looked at the cell phone in her hand as she stepped into the cool night air. Pulling the car door open, she slid the phone back into her coat pocket. Something told her to check it out first before getting any of the other agents involved yet.  
  
*****  
  
The flash of officers taking scene photographs was nearly blinding as they stepped into the narrow room. The shelved walls were filled with boxes of artifacts, all neatly labeled and arranged. Wide utility lights hung down from the high ceiling above, illuminating the cold space. Bea and Donovan made their way through the mass of people working the scene. She could not help but glance at some of the boxes as she passed by. It was hard to believe that some of the dates were labeled "B.C."  
  
A man in faded jeans and a black leather jacket was kneeling over the place where the coroner had marked that the victim was found.  
  
"May I help you?" Donovan asked of the man with chestnut hair. Bea looked up at Donovan, noticing the serious tone in his voice. A flash of restrained annoyance flickered in his dark brown eyes.  
  
"Nope, I think we've got it covered on this end," said the man in leather as he stood up and faced Donovan, "but thanks for stoppin' by."  
  
She almost wanted to smile at the laid back reaction of the man staring down Donovan, but she didn't dare. "Actually, I believe this is our crime scene so if you wouldn't mind telling me who you are and what you're..."  
  
"Agent Bea," he interrupted shaking her hand firmly, "so you made it out of the FBI's least wanted basement cubicle and are actually able to see the light of day."  
  
She lifted an eyebrow, intrigued by his words. "Yes, I've been doing field work for a few months. Agent... I'm sorry, what was your name again?"  
  
"Mulder. Special Agent Fox Mulder. F...B...I..." he shoved his hands deep into his coat pockets as a smile came across his face. "Your office was a few doors away from mine at the FBI building."  
  
She returned the smile. "I thought I recognized you..."  
  
As they spoke, Donovan surveyed the area. His stoic glare caught Mulder's attention. "This is why you are here," he said, pointing to the bloody marks left on the cold cement floor.  
  
She squinted at what he was pointing at, as the victim had apparently tried to leave a message upon his last dying breath, but it was unrecognizable to her. "What is that?" she said coming closer as the murmur of officers continued to echo through the room.  
  
Mulder knelt down next to her. "They're ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. See... here and here? It kind of looks like a bird."  
  
"Amenephus," Donovan corrected.  
  
"You can read this?" She glanced back at him.  
  
"I can transcribe some, not all," he replied shortly and then addressed Mulder again. "Our victim got caught up in a drug exchange that went bad. There is nothing paranormal about this crime scene, except for the fact that you're still here." Just then his cell phone rang and he excused himself.  
  
With wide eyes, she watched as Donovan's lanky silhouette exited the room. She was surprised how passionately he felt about this, and she couldn't help but wonder why. It was not like him to respond so sharply like this, certainly not without a logical reason, but for some reason this time she could not figure him out.  
  
"I don't think your partner likes me very much," Mulder said quietly, pulling out a bag of sunflower seeds that he began to munch on as he attempted to memorize every detail of the scene.  
  
"Oh, he's not my... What's this about paranormal?"  
  
His hazel eyes lit up as he stepped closer and began to speak quickly. "I believe there's a sect forming in this area that is comprised of followers of Isis. You know, one of the ancient Egyptian deities? I believe this set of murders is some sort of ritualistic sacrifice."  
  
She glanced down at the marked off area. "This doesn't look like a ritual to me though."  
  
"No, I don't think so either. This one is different, violent. I think your Mr. Donovan may be correct that this man was caught up in something but I think it's more than drug trafficking."  
  
She squinted her eyes in thought. "You said there have been more than one of these murders?"  
  
"I've been following leads on four cases. This is the fifth. What connects them all is the hieroglyphics left at each of the scenes."  
  
"Do you know what they say?"  
  
"Some of them, yes. I had a woman who can read all this begin to transcribe them, but she's sometimes hard to reach."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"She's only known to me as Raven. She comes and goes with information. Her name is probably fitting..."  
  
"Raven? I have a woman by that name on my team."  
  
"Well I think the logical step here would be to ask her a few questions."  
  
Donovan appeared around the corner and approached the two. "Some of the team is on their way down."  
  
"How about Raven?" she asked.  
  
He nodded. "She's the one that called my cell."  
  
Her gaze shifted to the hazel-eyed man to her left. "Mulder, would you mind showing me those other case files?"  
  
"Yeah, uh sure," he said lifting his eyebrows a little as he pointed a thumb behind him, "everything's back in my hotel room."  
  
*************  
  
"Wow, check this out Paula!" Heather said spinning around.  
  
"What are you doing?" the red-haired agent gasped, seeing Heather pulling mask out of one of the boxes as she started to flap her arms like the bird image infront of her face. "Put that back before you break it!"  
  
Heather laughed and slipped it back into the crate.  
  
Sab lifted an eyebrow. "Children..." she said under her breath.  
  
"Uh yes, very, very childish," Cody added, carefully sliding the peacock feather fan back onto the shelf without her noticing.  
  
Jake climbed back down the ladder. "Take a look at this," he said, showing a piece of dark wire in his palm.  
  
"That almost looks like it's been burned." Alex picked it up and tried to bend it. "You get this out of the security camera?"  
  
He nodded. "It's been melted."  
  
"What do you make of it Rav?" Donovan asked, with his arms folded across his chest.  
  
The dark haired woman circled around the crime scene, organizing her thoughts with each step. "I'm going to need the photos of this and then I need to hit the books to make sure I'm reading it correctly."  
  
"Why, what are you seeing?"  
  
She glanced up at him. "I'm not saying anything until I'm sure," she said in a stern tone.  
  
"You've seen others like this?"  
  
"Yes," she almost sighed, as her features became a little softer, "several other cases. None this brutal though. We have to find whomever did this."  
  
"We will," he assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You've had experience with this case, we have fresh agents working on this case. It's only a matter of time now."  
  
"Not with Agent Mulder on the case," she scoffed. "He'll have your Agent Bea running around in circles with all that paranormal crap and they still won't come up with any answers."  
  
"Heather, Paula, Jake," came Donovan's voice clearly through the room, "we're going back to headquarters."  
  
*********  
  
Agent Bea stacked the pillows behind her back as she sat on his bed in the hotel room. She licked the strawberry cream cheese off her bagel and listened to him quietly as he spread more photographs and case files on the bed all around her.  
  
"So what makes this murder different from the other deaths is that there are signs of a struggle?"  
  
"Exactly." Mulder anticipated her next question. "And the thing that makes them similar are of the many glyphs that are left at each scene, there are three that are the same."  
  
She picked up a photo and studied it, this time the symbols were written using ash. "What do the three say?"  
  
"Well, I'm no expert, but I've been told it says 'Daughters of Queen Isis'."  
  
"Agent Raven told you this?" she asked, glancing up at him over the photo.  
  
"Well, yes," he replied, sitting back in the chair near the bed where she sat. He sensed something unusual in her tone. He decided to take a stab at it. "You don't trust her, do you."  
  
"You do?" she retorted, skimming through the file.  
  
His smooth voice resonated in a short laugh. "I trust most people about as far as I can throw them. Unless it's that Callista Flockart, I could throw her thirty, maybe forty feet."  
  
Bea smiled and set down the papers. "Then why are you sharing all your information with me?" She could see the smile float away and his whole demeanor become very serious, very stoic, as she asked her question.  
  
"Because, you're the only one that will really listen. You're willing to see the whole truth."  
  
She could think of nothing else to say as he stared at her. "Rav didn't listen?"  
  
"She didn't want to listen, no. Which doesn't make much sense. She still provided me with information knowing whatever conclusion I made about it, she said it was wrong."  
  
"Hmm," she sighed, piling the papers back up. "That sounds like her to me."  
  
"Wow," he smiled a little, "not only do you not trust her, you don't like her either do you."  
  
"She worked with Donovan," she explained but not really.  
  
"And?" he pushed, sensing there was more.  
  
"And... she used to be his boss. It was before I ever even met him."  
  
"Oh, I see. You're jealous," he said shortly. Mulder began reorganizing the papers again, until he felt the ice of her glare staring him down. "Let me guess," he added with a slight smile, barely able to contain himself, "so they have this rapport and this history that you know nothing about and it's driving you nuts."  
  
"If one were that tactless to say that, then yes."  
  
He nodded. "I'm never diplomatic."  
  
As much as she tried to stop it, she could not help but laugh. "Hand me that notepad over there."  
  
*****  
  
"Isis again this time?" Donovan asked with his arms folded across his chest as he looked over Rav's shoulder. She sat at his desk and poured over her translation.  
  
"Donovan," she sighed, spreading her fingers out over the photos.  
  
"What? You've found something?" he asked taking a seat in one of the chairs facing the front of his desk. He sat forward, searching her features as she looked down. She was one of the best criminal profilers he'd ever known and if anyone could decipher the next move of their assailant, it was her.  
  
After a few long moments when she did not reply, he moved his chair around the other side of the desk to sit next to her. "What does the message say?"  
  
She pushed the black hair of her ponytail back over her shoulder and read her translation: "The Daughters of Isis have spoken: The Raven shall fly no more." She watched him as he read it over again. His thought process made itself evident through his eyes. A slight smile came to her lips as he finally looked up at her. "Who would have made it public info that I'm working on this case?"  
  
"Maybe someone saw you?" he suggested, raising his eyebrows.  
  
"No," she replied firmly. "I've watched my back. I've used standard protective procedure that I always do. No one knows who I am, when I'm coming, when I'm going. It's got to be one of your own. Somebody's been leaking intelligence."  
  
**********  
  
Heather bent the straw in her glass of iced tea as she reviewed her cover. "Doctor Joan Severson," she said outloud, breaking the silence in the nest.  
  
Paula looked up from her coffee. "You're going over that again? You should know all that by now; you've been undercover for nearly three weeks."  
  
"Yes, well, Donovan says we can always be better prepared," she said lowering her voice to do her best impression of him. She followed Paula down into the kitchen area for a refill. "You're not upset that I got paired up with Jake on this case, are you?"  
  
"No. After all, save the best for last, right?" she said looking at her friend with a coy smirk.  
  
Heather stuck her tongue out at her playfully, but her expression became more serious matching Paula's as she stirred her coffee. "What is it then?" Heather prompted. "I'm sensing something's going on with you."  
  
"It's not just me," she replied, nodding in the direction of Donovan and Raven as they descended the stairs. She lowered her voice as they moved towards the briefing area. "Something doesn't feel quite right with everybody."  
  
"You mean how disconnected the team has felt lately?" she whispered, seeing Monica and Alex enter the doorway.  
  
"It's something, Heather," she replied shaking her head, unable to quite put her finger on what she was sensing in the room.  
  
Donovan slapped his papers down onto the table and stood up straight again. "Agent Raven has completed her work on this case so she will be leaving us shortly. Also..."  
  
Jake broke in with a confused look on his face. "But I thought we needed her to figure out all those symbols found at the scene..."  
  
Donovan interrupted him this time. "Her work here is done," he repeated. "She'll be going onto cases where her time is not so ill-spent."  
  
"Ill-spent?" Heather whispered to Paula.  
  
"Alright, so what's next then?" Alex asked, rocking her chair contemplatively.  
  
"Next," he said pulling out a sheet of paper from one of the folders. "We'll be separating into two teams: one for acquisition of intel, and the other for analysis. Paula you'll be heading up the second unit which includes yourself, Alex, Sab, and Dee. You four will stay at the nest for analysis. I want Jake, Heather, Monica, and Cody to come with me."  
  
With that, he and his freshly selected team began towards his office.  
  
Sab glanced around at the remaining three people at the table. "We didn't even get to ask which team Bea would be on."  
  
Raven grabbed her long black, leather coat from the rack and just before she pushed on the door to exit, she turned back to answer Sab's question. "It would appear she's found herself a new team."  
  
Paula stood up, watching the woman with dark hair leave. She had been right in her assumption: something very wrong was going on with the team, and it only made it worse that they were now separated. But she had a job to do, and she decided immediately that was more important than her nearly overwhelming instincts.  
  
"Alright," Paula said looking around the table, "let's see what we've got."  
  
************  
  
"Oh Mulder, you cannot be serious," Bea scoffed lightly. She was laying across his bed watching the TV, but put her head down on her folded arms infront of her to cover her face.  
  
"What?" he replied repeating her sarcastic tone as he clicked the 'pause' button on the romote.  
  
She lifted her head and pointed at the screen. "You honestly think we're going to find any kind of clues watching this old 'Mummy' movie? I mean the effects are terrible. You can see the mummy's watch!"  
  
"I know, but look here," he said moving towards the TV and tapping on the screen. He gazed at the image intently before looking back at her to see if she recognized what he had.  
  
With a furrowed brow she studied the bad actor playing the mummy on screen but just over his left shoulder on a small obelisk were some hieroglyphics. "Wait a minute," she breathed crawling off of the bed towards the TV.  
  
Seeing the look on her face, he went back to the screen and traced the glyphs with his finger and then lept back to the bed where the photographs were filed.  
  
"I've seen this... before," she said groping at air behind her, but not removing her eyes from the image. He shoved one photograph in particular into her reach and she matched it up with the mummy's obelisk. "Look, it's the same thing!" she exclaimed, comparing the movie to the crime scene photo taken a few hours previous.  
  
He looked at her with a slightly triumphant smile across his features. "Looks to me like we have ourselves a copy-cat killer."  
  
"Quick," she said grabbing her keys, "to the video store!"  
  
**********  
  
Raven parked her black car inconspicuously behind the hotel and waited, and watched. From around the corner appeared two people just as the sun was coming up. The taller man in a leather coat waited for the woman in a red jacket that tied around the waist and reached mid-thigh, to go in the door before he pulled it closed.  
  
"We have a confirmation on visual contact," Rav said into her headset.  
  
Donovan's voice was on the receiving end. "Is Mulder still with her?"  
  
"That is an affirmative," she replied, watching the light go on in the window 5 floors up. "Bea just pulled closed the blinds. Do you want me to pursue on foot?" Donovan's voice did not reply for a long moment as indecision came to his mind. "Listen," she prompted when he did not answer, "if she's blown my cover, I could be in some serious trouble. All I want to know is what and how much info she's broadcasting about me."  
  
Back at the nest as Rav waited for his answer, he imagined Bea walking into his hotel room. With Raven's insistence, he could now not help but wonder how long she'd been going to see this man and how much she'd told him and how much time she'd spent with him without Donovan ever having a clue.  
  
"Pursue on foot," Donovan's voice came finally, "but proceed with caution."  
  
"As always," she smiled, stepping out of her car.  
  
************  
  
That next morning back at the annex, Sab was sitting at her laptop reading her email.  
  
"Good morning," she said, still staring at her screen as she saw Jake enter the room out of the corner of her eye.  
  
"Morning," he replied, cradling a cup of coffee in his hands. "Hey Sab," he said quietly, coming to stand next to where she sat. "Can I ask you a question?"  
  
"Shoot," she said glancing up at him.  
  
He stirred his coffee before he spoke and leaned against the table. "Were you with Cody last night?"  
  
Sab squinted at him and could feel herself begin to blush, wondering exactly what his intentions were by asking such a question. "Why?" she asked. It seemed it was in her nature not to divulge more information than was absolutely necessary, especially when it came to personal things such as this.  
  
He frowned a little, shrugged, and began walking away. "No reason."  
  
"No," she pushed, turning around in her chair, "why do you ask?" He had piqued her interest.  
  
He glanced over his shoulder up to Donovan's office, who had not arrived yet. "I was here late last night working out in the gym. I was just walking through when I heard Cody and Agent Raven speaking. It sounded like something was definitely up."  
  
She lowered her eyebrows and thought for a moment. "He was gone all night. I finally saw him about four this morning." She blinked and then looked up at Jake. "You think Cody was with Rav all night?"  
  
He inhaled slowly and shook his head. "I'm not sure. But the way they were talking... it seemed pretty important." Just then Jake nodded past Sab to Cody who had just entered the nest. "Morning Cody." He punched him playfully in the arm as he walked back towards the gym.  
  
Sab approached Cody as he stood there holding his arm. "Okay, ouch." He reached out and patted Sab on the top of her head. "Hiya, Sab. You sleep well?" he smiled at her.  
  
She could not help but wince at the gesture, but then she laughed lightly. "I believe the question is: how did you sleep?"  
  
"Huh?" he asked, moving past her towards the computer as he began pushing keys to start up the system.  
  
"Where were you last night?" she interrogated softly, stepping closer to him.  
  
He smiled at her. "Oh Sab, you were just tired, it was a long day. I was right there with you." He reached out and hugged her and then went back to his work.  
  
She stood there in silence and watched him. He sounded normal, but she sensed a slight difference in his behavior. Jake was right. Something was up. "Cody, you don't have to lie to me."  
  
"Why would I lie?" he asked, crinkling up his nose, staring at his screen.  
  
She placed a hand on the back of his chair and spun him around to face her. "Is this secret you're keeping from me classified or what?" She tried to conceal the frustration in her voice but to little avail.  
  
He looked back over his shoulder. "Not right now, Sab. Not here."  
  
***********  
  
Sab watched Cody from across the table in the kitchen area. He'd checked twice now to make sure the door was locked.  
  
"What is it?" she asked finally, impatiently.  
  
"Sab," he replied sounding slightly nervous, "there's an operation going on from the inside."  
  
She shook her head. "The inside of what?"  
  
"Our team, well, what's left of it," he scoffed. "Agent Raven had me out all night last night, setting up tracking devices and surveillance. I'm done with Bea's apartment, her car. Have to go back tomorrow night to finish the video feed at Mulder's since I only had time to set up audio last night. She wants to know where Agent Bea is and what she's doing at all times."  
  
She sat back in her chair and sighed heavily. "Well why didn't you say no? It's really none of her business."  
  
"I had to say yes," he answered shortly, standing.  
  
"Why? For what possible reason..."  
  
"She says she knows things about you, about your past." He turned back towards her with a look of defeat across his face. "She said they were things that you've worked too hard to forget about. Things that could destroy your future."  
  
"Oh Cody," she whispered, coming to him with tears in her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her as she spoke. "When did things get so difficult?"  
  
*************  
  
"Morning," Donovan said to the present members of the team before he ascended the stairs to his office.  
  
Jake looked at his watch. "Well not quite the record, but close."  
  
By the time he reached the final step, he had his brown jacket pulled off and draped over his arm. Stepping into the room, he raised his eyebrows and smiled, surprised to see Agent Bea in a dark blue skirt and suit jacket to match, sitting on his desk with her legs crossed and a remote control in her hand.  
  
"Are you a fan of the classic horror movies?" she asked, holding up the tape in her other hand.  
  
He tossed his jacket over the back of a chair and came to stand where she was. "I prefer the up-to-date versions myself, he replied, folding his arms across his chest. "What's this about?"  
  
She slipped down from the desk where she sat and pushed the tape into the VCR. "This series of old movies contains several scenes in which the 'Daughters of Isis' perform rituals using several of the items found at our crime scenes: ash, water, blood..."  
  
"You're thinking someone's been watching too many late night movies?"  
  
She nodded, returning to the desk as she neatly placed the remote down on the flat surface. "There's proof here that connects our last murder scene to one almost exactly the same in this film."  
  
"I see," he replied, picking up the remote to fast forward through the trailers.  
  
"I've given you a piece," she said turning towards him, "and I wouldn't usually ask, but I need something from you."  
  
"Of course." He momentarily turned off the TV, sensing the concern in her voice. He didn't know why he hadn't noticed that look in her eyes earlier. He almost wanted to ask if she had slept yet, but he knew she hadn't.  
  
"Why is someone following me?" she asked quietly, but before he could answer Agent Raven burst into the door.  
  
"Mulder's on the phone downstairs for you, Agent Bea," she said quickly ejecting her tape and handing it back to her. "It sounds important. You should go."  
  
"She can take it up here," Donovan said lifting the receiver.  
  
Bea searched Raven's dark gaze for a moment and then began towards the door. "I'll take it downstairs."  
  
Donovan watched from the windows in his office as she took the call and then in a moment fled out the door. He turned back towards the dark haired woman in his office. "What's going on?" he asked in his deadly serious tone.  
  
"If you're going to be objective about this case, you need not be contemplating any alternate theories, especially ones coming from her and Agent Mulder."  
  
"Why not?" he questioned, remembering the days when he was a young agent and she prescribed his behavior and actions out in the field.  
  
"The forces of a more personal nature are distracting her from being objective about this case. I don't want you to be lead astray by any false or ill-gotten information she may give you."  
  
He raised an eyebrow in thought. "I've always trusted her judgment before," he protested. "She's never given me any reason not to."  
  
"She has now."  
  
Raven watched his expression soften just slightly as his tall frame bent a little and he leaned back against the railing near the windows looking down upon the nest. She remembered a time when those eyes used to look at her like that seeking answers. She knew how difficult it was for him to trust anyone, but not her. She'd taught him things, how to survive. She'd reached him before his gaze became so sharp, before he'd witnessed the distruction and deceit caused by one too many criminals. He was guided to clues and to answers, not just about cases, but about himself thanks to her. She'd been his best ally, his best friend, and now she was asking him to remember that, for his own sake.  
  
"She's sleeping with Mulder, Frank."  
  
The muscles clenched tight in his jaw and his steely gaze stared her down. "You're sure," he forced the words to come.  
  
"Cody caught it while setting up surveillance last night. I'm so sorry," she said coming to him. She stroked her fingertips across his cheek as his eyes found the floor. "I know how much you wanted to trust her."  
  
He pushed her hand away and moved past her. "Why would this change how much I trust her? She's a good agent and..."  
  
"Come on Frank, I know you better than that," she interrupted.  
  
********  
  
Bea shoved her key into the lock and pushed the door open.  
  
"What's wrong Mulder?" she said from the doorway.  
  
He looked back at her from his seat near the bed in his hotel room. "Come here and look at this." He waved the romote in the direction of the TV.  
  
"This was the thing so important you couldn't tell me over the telephone?" She was more than a little irritated at him for making her drive like a maniac across town, but she took a seat anyway. "You should really turn this down, they can hear it half way down the street."  
  
"I know, it's crazy isn't it?" he laughed. "Check it out, every station is porn!"  
  
She shielded her eyes with her hand. "Just because it's on TV doesn't mean you have to watch it."  
  
"Well you know what they say, 'Must see TV'."  
  
She repressed a smile. His dry sense of humor was infectious. "I don't think that's a new NBC sitcom."  
  
"Oh sure it is," he replied very seriously. "It's the 'Nudie Booty Channel'."  
  
She looked at him with wide eyes and laughed out loud. "You cannot be serious!"  
  
"I am incredibly serious. Oh, here it is!" he said turning up the volume again. "This ad is why I called you over."  
  
The announcer did voice a voice over as models appeared on the screen wearing expensive looking gowns in black, red, and indigo. "Have you always dreamed of being a model who stays at the finest resorts, travels all over the world, while wearing famous designers' clothes? This dream can be yours when you attend the 6th Annual Modeling Search conducted at the spacious Marvin Fillips mansion. Please bring your portfolio and agent with you to the Fashion Show. Finalists will be signed immediately!"  
  
"So much for hiding out. Fillips is advertising now," she said, hardly able to believe what she'd just seen. It seemed too easy to find their suspect now.  
  
"Look at this," he said getting down on one knee to be closer to the TV as the ad ran again. "You see that woman's necklace? And that one?"  
  
She stared at the screen. "You've got to be kidding me. That's the symbol of Isis."  
  
"As in 'Daughter's of Isis'," he added, lifting an eyebrow. "Why would models be doing the dirty work for a multi-millionaire/thief/killer/madman? Sounds too James Bond-ish to me."  
  
She nodded in thought. "Somebody's definitely been watching too many movies."  
  
"It's me," he said rubbing his eyes as he shut off the TV. She stood up and began towards the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" he asked, standing up as well.  
  
"I've got a portfolio to pull together. Pick me up at 7:30."  
  
**********  
  
"Thanks Cody," Bea said patting him on the shoulder, "you're a genius."  
  
"I know," he sighed with his chin in his palm as he clicked the keys of his computer with one hand.  
  
"What are you doing?" Heather asked, coming up behind him.  
  
He looked bored at his work. "I'm transposing her head onto other women's bodies. I told her we could set up a photo shoot, but she said she didn't have the time so here I am."  
  
"Photo shoot?" Heather asked, giving Bea a confused look. "Did you decide to change careers?"  
  
Bea smiled. "Hardly. If you would, come with me please. I need your help with something."  
  
"Sure," she smiled back. "We've missed seeing ya around the nest today."  
  
"Yeah, I have too," she said as Donovan came down the stairs from his office.  
  
"Heather, can I see you a moment? We're about to start a briefing," he announced with his hands in his pockets.  
  
"Oh but I was just..." Heather began, pointing behind her to Bea who was at the door. "She needs my help with something."  
  
"I need you here," he said flatly, not leaving much room for objection.  
  
"Excuse me," Bea whispered, before she moved past her towards Donovan. "Could I see you up in the office?"  
  
"Here's fine." He almost interrupted her speaking so quickly. He looked down at her with a an expressionless glare.  
  
"Alright," she said, lowering her voice. "I have a lead on the case that I'd like to peruse. I'll be going undercover at the Fillip's estate tonight and I..."  
  
"Where'd you get your info?"  
  
"Actually Mulder saw..."  
  
"Do you have a contact on the inside?"  
  
"No, not as of yet but I hope to..."  
  
"Heather," he called out as he began up the stairs again, "the briefing will begin in five."  
  
Bea pushed her lips together, not wanting to call him out for an argument. Instead she turned on her heal and walked back past Heather. "Thanks anyway, Heather."  
  
The moment that she was gone, Heather looked to Cody, and to Sab who had just come back into the room.  
  
"What is the deal?" Heather asked slinking up the stairs towards the two at their computers. "First Raven left us, now he's outing Bea?"  
  
"Seems she outted him first," Cody said under his breath.  
  
Sab overheard it and tapped his shoulder with the back of her hand. "Not that it's any of our business."  
  
"What?" Heather asked, looking between the two. "What's going on?"  
  
"Nothing," they both answered at the same time.  
  
She gave a loud sigh of frustration and threw her hands up in the air. "I give up trying to figure you people out!"  
  
Going to where she figured Paula was most of the day, Heather walked towards the coffee pot. "Hey Paula, you feel like ripping my head off today?"  
  
Paula lifted her head from the file she was reading while waiting for her coffee to get done. "Um, no. Why?"  
  
"I just don't get these people," she said ducking into the refrigerator and pulling out a juice box. "It seems like everybody's got secrets that everybody knows and no one says anything about them and nobody'll tell me what's going on!"  
  
Paula smiled at her friend. "Okay, breathe. Too much sugar today?"  
  
"No, that's Sab," she waved her hand in the general direction of the operations board.  
  
Paula pulled out a chair for her and they both sat down at the table. "Okay, what's happened?"  
  
Heather sighed, collecting her thoughts. "Well last night when I was UC at the club, everything seemed pretty alright with everybody. But since then, things have just been kind of... strange. Maybe I'm making something out of something that isn't there."  
  
"Your senses are a very powerful thing. They tell you things even when you're not thinking of it, so you shouldn't ignore them. Okay, go on."  
  
"First with the announcement of Rav's leaving the team, but she's been up in Donovan's office for the last two hours. Then the team splitting up into two parts. And just now I think Donovan and Bea got into a fight, but she totally backed down."  
  
"Really?" said Paula, raising her eyebrows in surprise. She sat back in her chair for a moment and then realized her coffee was waiting for her so she got up. "Maybe she feels threatened by Rav's presence in Donovan's life again."  
  
"This is what I'm talking about," Heather said pointing a finger. "Everybody knows stuff but me."  
  
Paula smiled again and sat back down. "I remember Greg used to talk of a shady character named Raven. She was Donovan's superior when he was a rookie agent for the FBI. They both made the jump to CIA and I guess that's when they got involved."  
  
Heather sat forward and whispered. "You mean romantically?"  
  
"No, they set up a bridge team. Yes romantically!" They both laughed.  
  
"Hmm... I wonder how they broke up," Heather said, tapping her juice box with her fingers. "Must not have been a nasty break up otherwise she wouldn't have helped on this case, or wouldn't be here now."  
  
"Nah," Paula said showing her empty coffee cup before she got up again. "I heard it was a mutual deal."  
  
Heather winced. "You don't suppose he pulled one of those 'let's just be friends' things, did he?"  
  
Paula lifted an eyebrow and smiled. "Whose to say that he was the one to break it off with her?"  
  
"Well I guess that makes sense why Bea would act the way she did, but what about him? I mean he can be cold sometimes, but he was just being mean. And from Cody, it sounds like she deserves it or something?"  
  
She stirred her coffee. "Now that one does have me puzzled. What was the argument about again?"  
  
"I don't know, something about a lead she and Mulder found at the Fillips estate set for tonight."  
  
"Bingo," she said pointing her spoon before she tossed it into the sink. "And I'd bet he's denied her any backup on it."  
  
"Basically."  
  
She smiled into her coffee cup. "Men," she said shaking her head before she took a sip. "Well, we'll have to be her backup then. Let's go collect Sab and Dee and formulate an itinerary."  
  
*********  
  
Just as she closed the clasp on her diamond earring, there was a knock at the door. Bea finished pulling her curly hair into a ponytail and looked into the peep hole. Mulder, who stood on the other side of the door grinned with both rows of teeth into the hole and she could not help but laugh as she pulled the door open.  
  
"That might be a little much for your cover, Mulder," she continued to laugh as she moved back into her bedroom. She took off her robe and zipped up her black dress that reached just above the knee.  
  
"I don't think so," he replied, whipping out a pair of rectangular shaped pink sunglasses. "I am an artist!" he said boisterously, smoothing his hands down over his tux jacket.  
  
She had the straps of her black shoes dangling from her fingers when she returned to the front room. She shook her head at him with mock irritation as she walked to the couch and sat down. "You're my agent, that's it."  
  
"You're not going to let me have any fun with this, are you?" he said sticking out his lower lip sarcastically.  
  
"In one word? Not likely."  
  
He sat on the coffee table across from her. "That's two," he said taking her foot and laying it across his leg as he slipped the strap of her shoe through the small silver buckle. "There you are," he said putting her second foot down once it was done.  
  
"Thanks," she smiled.  
  
Taking her hand, he and pulled her to her feet. "Now let's get you to the ball."  
  
"Who said this would be any fun?" she replied, stepping out into the warm evening air. "Sab?"  
  
"We got ya," came Sab's voice over the nearly invisible earpiece she was wearing.  
  
"How's my visual?" she asked, touching her earrings.  
  
"Perfect."  
  
**********  
  
Frank Donovan paced back and forth behind Cody who was still sitting at his computer. "Here she is at her apartment," Cody said as the surveillance tape came up on his screen. "And here's a quick angle in his car... And here's them pulling up at the Fillips estate. That's all I've got. Now that they're inside, I'm blind."  
  
Frank finally voiced what had been going on in his head for the past few moments. "We shouldn't be watching this. It's violating privacy."  
  
"Um sir, if I may," Cody said spinning around in his chair. "You'd want to see what Agent Bea was doing out in the field, and it would appear at the moment she's working."  
  
"This just feels wrong." He put his hand down on the desk and leaned in to get a better look at the screen.  
  
"Sure, because you're not working with her," Cody answered him honestly.  
  
Donovan's dark eyes turned towards his agent for a long moment and then back to the glowing monitor. "You're right. She's a fellow agent, she shouldn't go UC alone. Jake. Alex." His voice echoed throughout the annex and she appeared from the gym. "We're putting you under. Can you be ready in fifteen?"  
  
Alex wiped her face with a towel. "We're ready anytime, boss."  
  
***********  
  
Donovan watched on the screen in the van as Alex surveyed the large room at the Fillips mansion where the models and their agents convened.  
  
"I see her," came Alex's voice on audio. "She's over by the fountain."  
  
Alex and Jake walked through the crowd of people talking and laughing before the event, so that they might get a better visual in the van.  
  
The announcer approached the microphone as the women from the commercial lined up on the stair landing high above the rest of the people standing below. "We would like to thank all of you who participated in this event. At this time, would these ladies please come up on stage: Lacy Chiffon, Daisy Wilder..."  
  
"Well that was fast," Bea whispered to Mulder as he came and stood next to her again.  
  
"Yeah, while you were talking to some of the other women, I met one of the judges they sent around. Just to let you know, there is no talent portion of this evening."  
  
The last of the eight women appeared on stage. "And Alexis Lorenz."  
  
"That's Alex," she pointed out to Mulder. "When did she get here?"  
  
"A few minutes after you," Jake said in a whisper, coming up back behind her.  
  
"Jake," she said trying not to look shocked. "Who else is here?"  
  
"Everybody's outside. You didn't think we'd let you go undercover alone, did ya?"  
  
The announcer's voice from the commercial came over the speakers again. "Once again we'd like to thank you for coming. The exits can be found to the right and left of this stage."  
  
"I have to go speak to my 'client'," Jake said excusing himself. He ascended the stairs towards Alex.  
  
Mulder took Bea's arm and lead her towards the door. "We've got one agent in, that's all we really wanted."  
  
They stepped outside with the rest of the mob. She looked at him and half smiled. "Well if this wasn't a shot to the ego, I don't know what is."  
  
"Nah," he replied shaking his head. "The judge said you had a level of sophistication they weren't looking for."  
  
She shrugged. "Maybe Alex is just a better actress than I am. Maybe I'm not the top of my game anymore?"  
  
He pulled the car door open for her. "We need you on this side anyway. I need you."  
  
She held onto the top of the door with both hands and stared at him. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had said that to her. "Coffee?"  
  
"Sure," he smiled at her and shut the door.  
  
*********  
  
Raven knocked on his door lightly, hoping Donovan was not yet in bed at this late hour, but not wanting to disturb him if he was. In a moment the door slid open and the tall, dark haired man stood at the entrance. His eyebrows lifted, lightening his features when he saw her standing in the hall.  
  
"Hi," he said with a slight surprised smile. Raven never came to his apartment. "Would you like to come in?" he asked running his hand over the inside of the door.  
  
"Okay," she replied, stepping inside and he closed the door behind her. She blinked, getting used to the light in the wide open space. It was a lot brighter in here than it was in the hall.  
  
"I'll be right back," Frank said, touching her arm lightly and then moved towards the kitchen. "You want anything?"  
  
"Coffee is fine."  
  
She pulled off her leather jacket and draped it over one of her arms as she looked around the long, spacious room filled with huge windows on the two outside walls. Glancing to her left, she noticed case files and documents laid out across the table. He'd been working on those files while sitting on the long black leather couch under the large bay window just moments previous to her arrival. Along that wall of windows was a staircase that led up to the second floor where she had only been a few times. Directly to the right was his personal library, and his computer which was in the corner, perched upon a desk with a smooth black finish which she unconsciously slid her fingers over every time she moved by. Straight ahead was a dining table which remained hardly ever used. Sitting there gave an amazing view of the city skyline. Everything in this space was completely neat, organized, and functional for work. There were little accent pieces tastefully placed around the room, but it still felt like an office.  
  
Her shoes clicked across the floor until she entered into the doorway of the kitchen near his study.  
  
"Is everything alright?" he asked her handing her a cup of coffee. She looked at the dark liquid and set it down as he took a sip of his.  
  
She sighed heavily, wanting to give him an answer, but finding none. "I don't know why I feel like this."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"I don't know why I came."  
  
"That's alright," he smiled, "I needed a break anyway."  
  
"What file were you working on?" She glanced up at him and then followed into the other room. He handed her the file as they both sat down on the leather couch.  
  
"I was just going over the psych profile on... What?"  
  
She flipped through the pages and slid the file back onto the short table neatly as he'd had it before. "I should go," she said standing and moving towards the door. "Sorry to disturb you."  
  
"You came for a reason," he prompted. "You don't have to, but you should know that you can tell me."  
  
She paused after putting on her coat as she was facing the door. "I know," she told him quietly.  
  
He watched her put her hands up to her face and coming up behind her, he gently touched her shoulder. "What can I do?" he asked, repeating her same tone.  
  
She turned towards him without looking and taking a step closer, buried her face in his neck. As surprised as he was, he still wrapped his arms around her as her shaking body became overtaken by sobs.  
  
"Hey, it's okay," he comforted, rocking her back and forth gently. He ran his hand soothingly over her hair and she looked up at him.  
  
"I had a dream, this horrible crazy dream, that Giovanni Sovrinatta killed you," she told him, unconsciously touching his cheek with her hand. "And I let you die. I couldn't help you... I let... you die!"  
  
She rested her forehead against his shoulder again and he placed a hand behind her neck. "Hey listen, that didn't really happen, alright?" he told her. "I'm still here."  
  
She closed her eyes for several long moments and just listened to him breathe. She felt the rise and fall of his chest under her hand and she sighed deeply. "Frank, can I stay here with you tonight?"  
  
"I can stay down here on the couch and..."  
  
"No," she said shortly, looking up at him. "I mean both of us together, upstairs."  
  
He pressed his lips together in thought, remaining silent. She searched his dark eyes a moment and then slipping one hand behind his neck, became deadly serious. "I don't want to be alone tonight."  
  
**************  
  
"You're right," Bea said setting down her cup. Mulder did the same, sitting across the table from her at the coffee shop. "I should just lay it all out for Donovan. We're going to need more people working tech ops anyway."  
  
He nodded. "I usually don't like bringing outside people in to work my cases, but we're going to need their help on this one. We've got to have an inside contact, and it looks like the only one we really have right now is Alex."  
  
"This is going to suck," she said while collecting her jacket and standing up.  
  
"You're going to approach him about this right now?" he asked, sounding surprised.  
  
"You know me well enough by now, Mulder. I've already backed off once about this, I'm not going to do it again."  
  
***********  
  
Rav awoke to the sound of loud rapping on the door downstairs. She sat up and peered through the darkness, trying to get her barings. A flash of light and crack of thunder rattled the windows. The lightening struck again, illuminating the room enough for her to look back at Frank who was still sleeping in the bed next to her. She smiled, watching him in his blue pajama pants before the knocking at the door pulled her attention away from him.  
  
She felt her way along the wall down the stairs and turned on a lamp near the door. Yawning, she pulled it open, finding Agent Bea dripping wet, on the other side of all that knocking.  
  
Bea felt her throat close up immediately, seeing Rav standing in the doorway in Donovan's black sweater.  
  
"Is... Is Donovan here?"  
  
"Yeah, he's uh sleeping," Raven replied, running her fingers through her hair. "You want to leave a message?"  
  
Bea looked past Raven's shoulder and saw Donovan, still in only pajama pants, coming down the stairs. "It's not important. I'll talk to him about it at work tomorrow."  
  
"Good enough," Rav answered shortly, as he came up behind her.  
  
Just before Rav shut it, Bea stepped away from the door and ducked into the elevator. Running back out into the pouring rain, she stepped into Mulder's car and slammed the door.  
  
"Well?" he asked, but seeing the look on her face, knew it hadn't gone well.  
  
"You're buying me a drink," she told him through clenched teeth. "Drive."  
  
***********  
  
Fox Mulder and Bea pulled up at "The Flaming Hole" in a few short minutes and ran through the soaking rain towards the awning that barely kept the people dry that were waiting in line to get into the club. "Hey Eric," she said to the bouncer standing at the door.  
  
"Hey, Honey," the large, bald man smiled at her before removing the red rope, letting them inside.  
  
Mulder looked around the club, throbbing with the thick beat of the music, the flashing strobe of black and white lights, and the sway of the people on the dance floor. "Wow," he said as one man with long black hair passed him. "What do these people look like on Halloween I wonder?"  
  
She half turned around to look at him and grin as she continued to push through the people towards the bar. "Come on Mulder, don't tell me you haven't been to a Goth bar before."  
  
"Oh I've been in places like this," he admitted as they finally found seats at the bar. "I worked a case where the people looked similar to this. Of course they thought they were vampires."  
  
She pointed to her right. "They would be up in the balcony."  
  
"Balcony. Perfect."  
  
She spun back around in her chair as the bartender called out to her. He was dressed in all black, with a collar around his neck. He had shorter black hair with vibrant, blue eyes. "Hey Honey! Haven't seen you in here for a good long time. Too long."  
  
"Thanks, Chazz," she smiled as he took her hand and kissed it. "Two of the usual. You still remember what that is, don't you?"  
  
"How could I forget the drink of my favorite girl?" He winked at her and walked away.  
  
"I'm surprised you let them call you that," Mulder said quietly to her.  
  
"Yeah, during the summers in college, I used to work here. They thought it was clever to call me Honey Bea. Get it?"  
  
Chazz returned shortly with two green glowing drinks for them. Bea asked as he set them down, "So is Rafe still here?"  
  
"Oh yeah," Chazz replied wiping off the bar, "he's the owner now."  
  
"Really?" she asked slamming back the drink. "Good for him."  
  
"I'll go see if he's available."  
  
She put her finger down on the bar. "Not before you bring us another drink though."  
  
"What is this?" Mulder asked, swirling around the glowing drink in his glass.  
  
"Mostly tequila." Two hands fell on her shoulders and she turned around in her chair. "Rafe!" she cried and the blonde haired man pulled her out of her chair for a hug.  
  
"You're positively soaking," he said hugging her with one hand and reaching out to shake Mulder's hand at the same time.  
  
"I know," she said sticking out her lower lip a little. "It's been one hell of a night."  
  
"Well you look it," he said bending down a little and pushing her hair away from her face with both hands. "Come on, I've still got some of your old clothes. Let's get you changed."  
  
"I'll be right back," she looked at Mulder before she was pulled behind the curtained doorway, but not before Rafe grabbed the bottle of tequila from the bar. He nursed the strange looking liquid in his glass until she appeared in the doorway again. As she walked out from behind the bar, he noticed she was wearing a pair of black leather pants with heels, and a burgundy bodice that laced up the front and was trimmed with black lace. Her eye makeup was a dark smudged coal color, making her green eyes even more visible.  
  
"I bet you'd never guess that a girl like me would be in a place like this," she asked him before pulling down her pants a little, revealing a tattoo of a crow surrounded in flames low on her left hip. "I got that here years ago." She took another shot of the glowing green goo and grabbed Mulder by the hand. "Come on, let's go dance."  
  
"Thanks," he replied, a little, but not entirely, surprised to see her look like that. "I'll join you on the next one."  
  
"Hey Rafe," she said turning back around on wobbly legs. He caught her in his arms as she spoke quietly, and then in a moment, he took her hand and lead her up onto the stage.  
  
"And now, for a house favorite," Rafe said into the microphone, "our very own home-grown Honey."  
  
The crowd whooped and cheered as she half strutted, half swayed onto the stage. She took the mic between her hands and began to sing. "Sometimes it rains inside my head, All the words run dry, Walls are breathing hands are reaching up, To touch my thigh. No they don't have to take you away..."  
  
As her song finished, she lept out into the audience and they carried her back to the bar. "That was fun," she said sloshing her next drink across the bar. Still feeling the hands around her waist that had helped her down, she told Rafe that he could let her go now, but he did not. She looked down with blurred eyes and recognized the hands that were holding her up.  
  
"Donovan," she breathed his name as she leaned her head back against him and closed her eyes. She found herself simply too tired to do much else.  
  
Frank gave Mulder his characteristic stoic glare as he steadied her movement. "How much has she had?"  
  
"Don't know," Mulder replied honestly, getting down from his chair. "You'd have to ask Rafe to be certain. But from what I've seen quite a lot."  
  
"Camelot?" she asked perking up a little. "Like with the knights and the horsies?"  
  
"No," came Donovan's voice from behind. "He was saying you've had too much to drink. I'm taking her home, Mulder."  
  
"Donovan!" Just as she was about to protest, the flashing lights and mesmerizing music became immediately black. The raven-haired agent scooped her up just before she collapsed and held her limp body against him.  
  
"Whatever it was," Mulder said finishing his drink, "she shouldn't remember it in the morning."  
  
Frank Donovan lifted an eyebrow. "You would be surprised."  
  
*******  
  
Donovan shoved her key into the lock with one hand, while his other arm looped around her waist. Together they burst through the front door when it opened. She pushed one final time with her palms against his chest, "Let me go Skeeter!" He released his hold and she stumbled forward.  
  
"Thank you!" she said turning around in the middle of the room.  
  
"You haven't called me that in a long time." He flipped on the lights and watched her slow, exaggerated movements.  
  
"You know what your problem is?" she asked, pushing her hair away from her face as she backed up right into a table. She looked behind her as if she'd never seen it before. "You don't know how to have fun anymore, Skeet. I was havin' a great time tonight and you had to go and wreck it."  
  
He sighed and pressed his lips together. "I can see that," he replied, tossing her keys onto the table. Catching his second wind, since he'd had to fight her practically the whole way back to her apartment, he decided to tackle the situation again. He placed his hands lightly on her upper arms in an effort to move her into the other room. "It's time for bed. You need to go sleep this off."  
  
"Did you see me sing?" she asked quietly, in a seeming moment of clarity.  
  
"No."  
  
A hint of hurt fled into her eyes. "Oh."  
  
He almost wished he had seen her sing, because he missed it. There was a time when everything seemed less complicated and they both seemed more happy. It was then that she felt free enough to sing and he was her biggest fan, going to the coffee shops and jazz clubs to hear her. He even used to say she had a big voice but still called her little dove. But the performance tonight, he guessed was sung from a sad heart, an aching soul and he couldn't have stood by and watched that.  
  
"You need to sleep," he told her quietly, unable to resist lifting her head and stroking a thumb over her cheek.  
  
The hurt welled up in her green eyes nearly spilled down her cheeks. "You just want me to pass out so you can go back to her. You don't need to worry about me anymore. Go. Get out of here, Skeet."  
  
She dashed towards the bathroom and slammed the door. The sound of sobbing, then coughing emanated from behind the door. He knocked twice and she very nearly screamed at him. "Get out Frank!" she cried, but he pushed the door open the width of his foot to see her bending over the toilet again.  
  
He looped one of his arms diagonally across her chest to hold her up and with his other hand held her hair away from her face. "I'm sorry about what happened back at my apartment tonight." When she was done for the moment, he handed her a cool washcloth. She sat back against the tub and wiped her face as she cried.  
  
"You... love Rav don't you," she said between sniffs. Her breathing quickened and she began to cry again. "You always have. Even when you two went your separate ways... And now that she's back... I can see it in your eyes when she's around... And now I'm not even a friend to you anymore. She's made enemies of us, Donovan."  
  
"You've had more of a hand in that than she has," he replied and watched as her eyes became wide. Her lips parted slightly even though she had nothing to say, but he didn't really give her much of a chance to reply. "You're the one who pulled away and decided to go on your own persuits."  
  
She covered her eyes with her hands. "I don't think I can take this right now, Donovan."  
  
"Since when have you ever backed down?" he asked wrapping his long fingers around her wrists and pulling her hands away.  
  
She shook her head. "I have. I do."  
  
"Well not anymore," he said through his teeth. Her gaze met up with his steely, dark eyes when she sensed the anger in his voice.  
  
"Fine," she repeated his tone, with a look of focus flashing across her face. "Why am I being followed?"  
  
"Rav thought you blew her cover. She didn't trust you, she had to be sure. Mulder's lead. Was it something somebody slipped to him under a door or is it legit?"  
  
"It's legit," she responded in the quick exchange of information as he let go of her hands. "I saw the commercial myself on that porn station he was watching. Close to under a door, but not quite. 'Daughters of Isis' are linked to Fillps via the models that wear the Isis logo. Why did you let Rav follow me?"  
  
He paused for a half of a second. "As she put it, your logic center might be skewed because of the personal interest you had in Mulder, so quite honestly, I didn't trust you either. Wait a minute, porn?"  
  
"You didn't trust me?" she nearly choked on the words. "I never had any 'personal interest' in Agent Mulder, but I guess that doesn't really matter now," she told him coldly. "I guess you could say that I trust you and your 'personal interest' in Rav about as much as you trusted me."  
  
Just then his cell phone rang in his jacket pocket so he answered it. "Frank, it's me," came Raven's voice on the other end. "I was right."  
  
"About what?" he asked, sounding a little preoccupied. He pressed the phone to his ear with his shoulder as the brunette in his arms became nauseated again.  
  
"You can stop worrying about Agent Bea and come home now. I've found her."  
  
"What?" he asked again.  
  
"She's at Agent Mulder's and it sounds like they're at it again, if ya know what I mean."  
  
His attention immediately focused and he stared at the woman infront of him. "I'll call you back," he told Raven and put the phone back in his pocket.  
  
She stood at the sink and brushed her teeth. "I think you need to go now," she said looking at herself in the mirror as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "I'll see you at work tomorrow and thank you for bringing me home." She walked out of the bathroom, leaving him alone.  
  
By the time his lanky frame entered into the front room, she was heading towards the door to let him out.  
  
"You were, apparently, just as misinformed as I was," he said stopping in the middle of the room.  
  
She spun on her heel and glared at him. "What are you talking about?"  
  
**********  
  
Monica slipped on her glasses and peered into the computer screen as she began checking her email.  
  
"Hey there, Monica," Cody said slipping in next to her.  
  
She looked over her glasses at him, "Morning," and then went back to reading.  
  
"So uh... how do you think everybody's holding up under the pressure of this new case?"  
  
She looked at him again and lowered her eyebrows. He never asked her anything outside of 'Would you like nacho cheese with that?' "They're doing fine, Cody."  
  
"You think?" he asked spinning around in his chair like a little kid.  
  
She watched him go around in circles. "Yes," she replied, sounding almost annoyed, but knowing her sober personality, he thought nothing of it. Just then, Jake and Alex stepped into the nest. Monica pointed to the two with her finger and lowered her voice. "You see them? He put an ice cube down the back of her shirt earlier this morning and that started an all out war. You see them?" she asked, pointing to the table where Paula, Heather and Dee sat. "They got together and watched Three Stooges movies all last night. They were still laughing about it this morning." Sab sat down at her laptop nearby and winked at Cody before she went online. "And then you and Sab," Monica said waving her hand, "you two do whatever you do to stay happy."  
  
"Morning all. Briefing in 10," Bea told the two as she paced by towards the upstairs office.  
  
Cody and Monica turned in their chairs and watched her all but leap up the stairs. "That one," she said squinting her eyes, "I'm still trying to figure out."  
  
Cody gave her a coy smirk. "So they've got ya stumped do they? So ya haven't got em' figured out then do ya?"  
  
She had a frustrated look flash across her face. "Well then what is it Cody?"  
  
He continued to look at her as he typed into his keyboard, but she rolled her eyes, unimpressed. "There... you... are..." he said typing in the final commands as surveillance images from the previous night popped onto the screen. "We have this little scene in the bathroom at Bea's apartment about 12 pm..."  
  
Agent Bea popped up on the screen with Donovan on the floor holding her. "You didn't trust me?" came Bea's voice on audio.  
  
Monica shook her head and readjusted her glasses. "This is bad, Cody," she told him sitting closer to the monitor, not wanting to look but unable to resist.  
  
"Oh yeah, it gets worse. Here they are in the front room." He clicked a few more keys. "Let's get to the gist of the convo."  
  
"Convo?" Monica lifted an eyebrow and glanced in Cody's direction.  
  
"Conversation, alright?" he said tapping on the keyboard.  
  
This time Donovan's voice came over audio. His tall frame was seen on the monitor as slightly bent, his shoulders rolled forward, and his hands in his pockets. He did not look his usual statuesque self. "Rav and I may have had a past together, but that's just it: in the past. Nothing happened tonight between she and I."  
  
"You think she believed him?" Monica asked.  
  
Cody had his hands folded across his chest, waiting for her to ask that question. "Oh yeah," he answered almost laughing, "in a big way. By 1:30 we see this..."  
  
Bea's bedroom flashed onto the screen, making Monica nearly jump. Cody's too good with that computer, she thought to herself. The raven-haired agent appeared in the room just after she had gone to her CD player to turn on The Cure's "More Than This," turning up the volume about as loud as it would go. She came to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him gently on the lips. His long fingers found her hips and lifted her from the ground, so that they could both lay on the bed together. She stroked her fingertips over his jawline pulling him closer for another kiss. With his arms wrapped around behind her, he kissed her neck and she smiled and arched her back up towards him. She pushed his jacket off of his broad shoulders which he took for a brief moment.  
  
"What happened?" Monica asked as the screen went to black.  
  
"He covered up the hidden camera, that's what happened. It stays like that for about the next 5 hours too."  
  
"Wow," Monica exhaled as she sat back in her chair. "Wow."  
  
Cody shoved another stick of gum into his mouth and began to chew loudly.  
  
"Cody," she said looking at him again. "Where did you... How did you..."  
  
"I don't know," he said putting his hands up and standing up to walk away. "Don't ask me. You have questions, you ask Raven."  
  
***  
  
Mulder took a handful of sunflower seeds and then set the bag down on the passenger side seat. He didn't notice the dusky sky lit up with colors of red and purple as the sun went down over the thick, dark green trees. With one hand, he steadied the binoculars and peered down at the Fillips estate from the look-out point on the edge of the cliff. It seemed rather convenient to have a state park for a backyard. He looked out the back window. Somebody could get lost in these woods, if the illusive Mr.. Fillips wanted them to, he thought to himself.  
  
As he stared into the rearview mirror, he noticed an unmarked black car with it's lights off slowly winding its way through the muddy path up the hill. Setting the seeds down in the ash tray, he slid a hand inside his black leather coat, reaching for his weapon. As he turned around and looked over his shoulder at the car with tinted windows that had parked near him, there was a tap on the windshield. He jumped but then lowered his weapon back into the holster seeing the familiar silhouette at the door.  
  
"Did I scare you?" Agent Bea whispered, pulling open the passenger door. She closed it very carefully after she sat down so as not to make any noise.  
  
"Of course not," he replied nonchalantly, taking another handful of seeds.  
  
"Right." She gave him a look of mock irritation when he glanced her way. He was almost surprised to recognize a genuine smile in her eyes.  
  
"Does this look like a face of concern?" he told her looking away with a blank stare as he pointed to himself. "Cool as a cucumber, baby."  
  
"Uh huh," she nodded, repressing a grin. "Whatever you want to think." Watching him for a moment, she decided to try a couple of the seeds too.  
  
"Looks like we're still on for tonight." He passed the binoculars to her as Alex and Jake arrived outside the largest house down below.  
  
Bea looked at her watch and then back at the couple. "They're right on time. Half of the team is still at base, and the rest of us are perched out here in the middle of nowhere."  
  
Donovan's voice came over her headset. "Agent Bea. Status."  
  
"Yup," she replied pressing the button for them to receive her audio in the van. "We're both up here. No unusual breach of perimeter."  
  
She listened for a moment more as he barked out status requests from the rest of the agents out in the field before she shut off her own mic.  
  
***  
  
Sab glanced back at Donovan as his unwavering stare focused on the monitors along the van wall. She leaned in and spoke quietly to Cody, almost feeling like she shouldn't break the dark haired man's concentration.  
  
"We're getting a lot of interference on Bea's mic. I'd like to go up to the hill and take a look at it."  
  
Cody nodded, but Donovan spoke in his stead. "How quickly can you be back Sab?"  
  
She was not entirely surprised that he'd heard her. Cody had gotten nailed on several occasions when he assumed Donovan couldn't hear him. "Ten minutes tops."  
  
"Fine," he replied glancing up at her. "Do it."  
  
***  
  
"What is it?" Mulder asked sitting up a little in his seat, taking in the whole area outside the car.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You sighed. I heard it." He lifted her hand and poured some more seeds into her palm. Her features lifted as she smiled, wondering if it was some kind of a peace offering or something.  
  
"I guess I just feel like I should be in there instead of out here," Bea replied, pointing at the red villa style roofs. "I think we were really coming along on this case, but it seems like we've come to a stand-still now."  
  
"You know, I've found it often takes the long way around to get to where I need to be. You know, the whole 'the journey is more important' thing. But even more often than not, I find there is no solid ending, no concrete answer, so all I have is the journey. From there I kind of have to make my own conclusions or just know there are some things that remain unsolvable for one reason or another. I've been forced to hold onto this philosophy just to hold onto my sanity. But you... you don't strike me as being so..."  
  
"Jaded?"  
  
"Seasoned," he finished, with a smile in his hazel eyes. "So what gives, Agent Bea? What's changed your mind that now we're going nowhere with this case?"  
  
"I can just sense it, I guess. I get the feeling this just isn't the right direction to be pursuing. And I keep having this dream..."  
  
Just then she thought she saw two figures in black slip into the window. Immediately, she called in to Donovan. "We have a breach in security on the west end of the building. We are going to..."  
  
Before she could finish her sentence, a loud crack and then splash of glass from her window rained down on them. "Mulder!" she screamed a second before a strong hand wrapped around her hair, pulling her out the window.  
  
As she was flung down onto the ground, the wind got knocked out of her and she struggled to breathe as someone's knee pressed into the middle of her back.  
  
"Get off me... Get off me or I will shoot!" came Mulder's voice from the other side of the car. She glanced under the car and quickly counting feet, decided there were at least nine other persons dressed in black.  
  
Unable to move, she could only listen to the struggle before a single shot rang out over the trees. There was a thump on the ground and to her horror, she recognized his body not ten feet away laying on the wet leaves.  
  
"Mulder!" she sobbed, gasping for breath.  
  
Donovan's dark eyes flashed as he spoke forcefully into his headset. "Abort! Abort! Alex, Jake get out of there..."  
  
Sab lept from her car that she'd just driven to the top of the cliff after pulling her weapon from the glove box.  
  
"Get back or I'll shoot!" she cried out to the figures in black hovering over the two agents on the ground. She could feel her heart beating in her ears as she waited for them to move away, hoping she would not have to open fire. For a second the figures remained completely still, then without warning she heard the quick crunch of leaves underfoot behind her and she knew she was surrounded. Turning on her heal and ready to fire, the weapon was kicked from her hand and she was knocked to the ground.  
  
"Sab... Sab report!" Donovan called out to her over her headset, but only silence returned.  
  
Hearing the tone in his voice, Cody looked up and saw a look of very near panic in Donovan's eyes. Cody began typing furiously into his computer.  
  
"I didn't even think of putting cameras on our other agents," Cody said ruefully.  
  
********  
  
A dark blue car pulled up behind the police cars that had already come to the scene. Heather glanced over at Paula who was driving and then to Dee in the back seat. All three sat in silence and stared blankly. It was hard to believe what they'd heard of the attack back at the nest. And now as they stepped out of their car into the cool night air, as the red and blue flashes of light from the police cars washed over their faces, it seemed as if every person there was moving in slow motion.  
  
Slowly the three made their way past the parked cars, and under the police line to where the officers were documenting the crime scene.  
  
A tall woman with black hair appeared around the other side of the car and her voice broke through the low murmur of the officers and agents. "Dee? Could I see you over here for a moment?" Agent Raven said, motioning towards her. Dee nodded to the other two and complied with the illusive agent. Monica followed Dee and ducked down behind the car.  
  
As the two remaining agents stood there trying to make sense of what they were witnessing, Donovan approached them. "I have agents spread all over this forest looking for them. I was just about to join the search team," Donovan said in a monotone voice.  
  
"What happened here?" Heather asked, shaking her head.  
  
"We're still trying to figure it out. Someone will catch you up. I need to go lead the search." As he was about to step away, she grabbed his arm.  
  
"No wait..." Her eyes scanned over the crime scene and she gasped seeing a handprint on the car door. "Is that blood?"  
  
"I'm sorry," he said running his hand over his arm to get her to release her grip, "but that is why I need to go now."  
  
"Where are they?" she begged for an answer. She felt an ache deep in her chest, and burning tears came to her eyes, but persisted to question him. "Where the hell are they!?"  
  
"Paula," Donovan said glancing past Heather to get her attention.  
  
The red-haired agent put a hand on her friend's shoulder. She could understand Heather's desperation, but she also knew Donovan needed to go do his job. "Come on Heather. Let's go see what we can do."  
  
Heather didn't hear her speaking though. She could suddenly think of nothing except the rage that threatened to consume her. "This is your fault," she breathed at him. "If you wouldn't have been so mean, she wouldn't have been forced to separate from the rest of the team and be up here with Mulder. Sab wouldn't have come up here either."  
  
He ran his tongue over his lower lip and quickly assessed the situation. There was nothing he could say at the present moment to defuse the situation, so he'd have to deal with her later.  
  
Heather saw in his eyes that he was not going to answer her, but just to walk away. Her resentment became too unbearable to repress and the rage seethed from every word she spoke: "This is all your fault and you won't even admit to it, you cold-hearted son of a bitch!" With that she reached back and slapped him across the face as hard as she could.  
  
Immediately Paula grabbed Heather around the waist and jerked her back. "Stop it!" She raised her voice so rarely, it made Heather jump. "Now's not the time. Come on."  
  
In a moment the statuesque form of Donovan had disappeared through the small crowd of people and into the night. Paula released her hold on Heather when they both saw Cody wandering aimlessly around the agents who were taking notes. They moved quickly towards him and when he focused on their familiar faces, he threw out his arms and hugged onto both of them.  
  
"She's gone," he whispered in the most woeful tone. "They've taken my Sabrina..."  
  
******  
  
The blindfold was removed from Sab's eyes and she blinked hard, getting used to the dull light in the room. The door slammed behind her and a thick lock clicked, confining her to this room. Instinctively she grasped through the dark finally finding a cold stone wall to put her back up against. She realized once she could look around a little, the only light that flooded into the small room was from the small barred window in the door.  
  
She exhaled slowly, trying to remember the route they had taken to end up here. She guessed her captors had backtracked several times just to confuse her senses. Her head throbbed now and she rubbed her temples with her fingers. At least she'd put up a good fight, she thought to herself. She was sure more than one of the figures dressed in black was bruised or bleeding thanks to her. Still, it hadn't been enough because she was here, in the dark, and completely lost.  
  
'Cody will find me,' she thought to herself. 'He won't give up. I won't either.'  
  
Just as she was about to sit down in order to formulate her next plan of attack, she heard a low moan coming from the corner of the room. She tensed, ready to pounce with catlike reflexes when she spoke to the dark form on the floor.  
  
"Who are you? What do you want?"  
  
"I knew I should have tipped that bell boy more. Well you get what you pay for."  
  
Sab stepped cautiously forward. "Agent Mulder?" She watched as he leaned back against the wall.  
  
"So I've been told," he replied quietly.  
  
She lept forward and knelt beside him, finding herself incredibly relieved that she was not alone. "I saw you get shot!"  
  
"That's true too," he replied, removing his hand from his shoulder just long enough to show her the dark liquid dripping from his fingers.  
  
"Oh my!" she cried and pressed her palm firmly into his shoulder. "We have to get this bleeding to stop!"  
  
He flinched in pain and said nothing for a long moment. "Where are we?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Where's Bea? Did you see where they took her?"  
  
She sighed and pulled off her button down shirt so that she was wearing her black tanktop. Wrapping it around his arm, she tied it and pulled hard. "I don't know that either."  
  
*****  
  
"Donovan," Bea moaned, feeling as if her body was floating. "Mulder?" she called again, hearing only her voice echo back to her down the long stone hall. She flattened her hand against the coarse sand near her thigh. Her heartbeat thumped inside her ears, making the empty silence even more deafening.  
  
The orange and yellow glow of the torches along the stone walls became dimmer and dimmer. "Hello?" came her voice back to herself, as she tried to sit up, but she lost her balance and bumped her head against the cold, smooth wall behind her. She could feel the weightlessness creeping up over her body, her feet, her calves, almost up to her chest.  
  
Unable to fight it anymore, she shut her eyes and listened to the sound of her heart.  
  
***** Raven had informed the two other psychological profilers of what she'd found at the crime scene. She, Monica, and Dee's minds were racing trying to figure out what the connections were given the clues at the scene as they stood beside Mulder's parked car.  
  
"There has to be several assailants. There just has to be," Monica said looking between the two.  
  
Dee nodded. "I'd agree with that. The people who did this have no fear. That's evident by the reckless destruction of that window, the hair and blood samples found. It doesn't look like they bothered to cover up their tracks. There's too much physical evidence to prove otherwise."  
  
Raven paced around Mulder's car, organizing her thoughs with each step. "Yes, but at the same time they were quick, concise. They knew exactly what they wanted, how they were going to do it, and they were in and out within a matter of seconds. Not nearly enough time to even call in backup."  
  
She crouched down and stared at the bloody handprint on the driver's door. As the blue and red lights swirled around them, she noticed a drip under the car. Moving a little closer, she put her hand underneath and let it drip into her palm. She'd worked several summers as a teenager in a car shop and knew what was what on the undercaridge of a vehicle.  
  
"Hey!" Rav said, taking a better look at the fluid in her hand. "Can we get a light over here?"  
  
In a matter of seconds, Dee and Monica appeared with two flashlights. Rav moved the liquid between her fingers, grabbed one of the flashlights and dove under the car.  
  
"Oh shit," came Raven's voice from under the car. The other two moved closer to listen to what she'd found. "Okay, I'm going to need a piece of paper and a pencil. Looks like we've got another set of glyphs to decode."  
  
****** Bea exhailed slowly and found her eyelids were simply too heavy to open. She listened to the sound of water flowing over rocks somewhere in the distance. She inhaled again, breathing in thick air perfumed with sweet smelling incense that seemed to invigorate her senses.  
  
"Where is Mulder?" she heard her own voice saying somewhere outside of her body.  
  
There was a quiet murmur in a language she did not recognize. Finally a voice came close and answered her. "Nothing more to worry..."  
  
She did not understand, but she was not even completely aware that she did not care. A hand slipped behind her neck drawing her up for a drink of bitter tasting liquid. She was vaguely aware several others were around her, touching her hair, her hands, but she did not verify her sense with visual confirmation. She was gently lowered back down where another soft pillow was placed under her neck to cradle her back to sleep.  
  
*****  
  
Sab held onto Mulder protectively, sitting with him against the wall, as the door opened and light flooded in, along with six figures dressed in black.  
  
"What do you want?" Sab called out to them, suddenly realizing she had very little defense against six individuals if she had to be prepared to defend him too.  
  
As the tall figures encircled the two on the floor, Sab attempted to fight back once again, but the best she could do was focus her attention on one. She kicked the form in the shin and grabbing for anything she could, ripped the black face covering away revealing the assailant underneath. The moment of realization was delayed just long enough for her to wrap one of her hands around the figure's long blonde hair and pull her to the floor.  
  
"Mulder!" Sab called out to him. "It's Fillip's models!"  
  
She turned for a second to see him being removed from the room and in that short amount of time, she found herself captive again. Even though her face was pushed up against the wall with her hands held behind her, she still felt triumphant in knowing who they were.  
  
"So I see you Isis ladies have gone from artifact theft to kidnapping and murder. You're really moving up in the world aren't you?" Sab said mockingly.  
  
The blonde woman twisted Sab's arm up to make her cringe with pain. "We have our reasons."  
  
"Right," Sab continued. She thought to herself if she could just keep the woman talking... "For your ritualistic sacrifices?"  
  
"Of course. We needed those ancient, sacred tools to complete our work."  
  
"And that man that was found killed in the museum, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, right?"  
  
"He got in the way. He was not one of the chosen, no."  
  
Sab was a little surprised her captor was still talking. The blonde must have thought Sab was no threat. "Chosen? What does it take to be chosen?"  
  
"Our priestess ordains who will undergo the purification process so that they might receive the ultimate privilege... to be sacrificed to Isis. One day, hopefully this day, our gifts will be sufficient enough to reincarnate the goddess herself."  
  
"Have you undergone the purification process?" Sab could hardly believe she was discussing this. If she'd learned nothing from Donovan, she'd learned to identify with the hostage taker, gain her trust, before she could make her move.  
  
"Of course not," the blonde scoffed at her. "Only those borne with mirrored attributes of the green-eyed Isis are acceptable."  
  
'Mirrored attributes?' Sab repeated to herself and then in realization, voiced her thoughts. "Bea is your next chosen? That's why she was not in here with us."  
  
"Our priestess saw it at the 'model search' party last night. Her eyes hold a wisdom beyond their years, do they not?"  
  
"Wait a minute, how did you know Bea would be up on that hill tonight?"  
  
The blonde paused for a moment. "Queen Isis led her to us."  
  
For the first time, Sab found herself feeling actually sick. Somehow they had to get out of here, and soon.  
  
*****  
  
Raven sat in the chair behind his desk in Donovan's office while Dee and Monica watched over her shoulder. She worked quickly, double-checking her translation of the hieroglyphics in the thick books laid out on the table.  
  
When she was finished, she read outloud: "I have 'Anubis watches over all who attempt to enter this place.' What does that mean?"  
  
Monica shook her head, not having any idea what relevance it had. Dee paced back and forth, deep in her thoughts, but jumped when the phone rang. Rav picked it up and spoke to Jake who was on the other end. "Yeah, but it doesn't make sense. Reads 'Anubis watches over all who attempt to enter this place.' Nope... doesn't mean anything to you either? Okay, keep searching, we'll be in touch."  
  
As she hung up the phone, Dee came back to the desk with a tape in her hand. "I knocked this off the table over there when the phone wrang."  
  
Rav took it from her hands and looked at the title: "The Adventurous Mummy."  
  
Monica frowned. "Why would Donovan have something like that in his office?"  
  
Raven stood up and handed it back to Dee. "Bea said she and Mulder found some kind of lead on this. Plug it in!"  
  
*****  
  
Paula and Heather's flashlights crossed over eachother's in the dark as they stalked through the abyss that was the forest.  
  
"You find anything at all yet?" Paula asked, hearing the crunch of leaves all around them as the other agents walked in a line not 10 feet away.  
  
"Nothing," Heather sighed, glancing over to her left seeing Jake's searching light.  
  
Just then Raven's voice came over all of their headsets and they paused. "We've got something! Donovan, come in."  
  
"What do you have Raven?" Donovan shouted above the helicopter propellers.  
  
"There will be a cave opening in a clearing near a waterfall. They're performing the final sacrifice there."  
  
Donovan was surprised how accurate her description was. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
Monica's voice came over audio next. "The last message we found with the middle-man was not meant for Rav. 'The raven shall fly no more' was one of the messages left by one of the men that got murdered in these old mummy movies we found in your office. We've found every message from each of these crime scenes, in order, somewhere in the movies: on parchment, obelisks... The last one: 'Anubis watches over all who attempt to enter this place' was spoken by the mummy right before he was destroyed over an Isis statue."  
  
Dee added, "And that final scene in the last movie happened in the cave by the waterfall."  
  
Raven spoke lastly, with a sobering effect in her voice. "Listen, I know it's a long shot, but I think it's all we've got to go on right now."  
  
Donovan pressed his lips together in thought for a second. She was right. They had to act on it. "Alright, Cody?"  
  
"Yes sir?" he said, somehow managing to focus again.  
  
"I want you to pull up geographical data for this whole area. Since we have the roads blocked off, they've..."  
  
*****  
  
Sab and the blonde haired woman had been alone in the cell only a few minutes before several more of the Daughters of Isis women returned. They filled the room quickly and swarmed around her, making sure she would not escape before they led her down several dim halls lit by torches on the walls. Finally they came to a large room with a high ceiling that was lit by large bowl shaped barrels from which tendrils of yellow flame licked upwards.  
  
Across the room from where they led her, she saw Mulder firmly secured to the cold stone wall. Seeing him, she felt the panic begin to set in.  
  
Once she was secured as he was, she looked to the north end of the room where the procession flooded forth. It seemed all of the Daughters of Isis were wearing some combination of gold and turquoise that reflected the movement of the glowing fire. At the end came two women wearing what looked like gold plated armor and headdresses made of gold and iridescent blue and green peacock feathers. One wore a cloak of the feathers while the other wore them as a skirt.  
  
The priestess in the cloak addressed the gathering. "Just as it has always been done, one has been found as chosen..."  
  
Sab's attention focused on the other in the green and blue skirt. She wondered how she would be able to get her attention, seeing the blank gaze in Bea's eyes. Something had happened because she had never seen her like this before: looking tired and yet completely vacant at the same time.  
  
The priestess had continued without Sab listening to her: "...And so now it is time for her to choose her own sacrifice symbolic of the chosen's gift soon forthcoming."  
  
Bea's void stare moved from Sab to Mulder before she stepped forward between the two and slid the sleek dagger up from its sheathe on her hip, concealed under the feathers.  
  
"Has your decision been made?" called out the priestess.  
  
Before a response could be made, a man in a dark suit burst through the doorway.  
  
"Fillips," said Mulder, recognizing the man who had commissioned all of the artifact thefts.  
  
"What are you doing here?" asked the blonde Sab had talked to earlier.  
  
"This was not part of the deal," said the white-haired man as he spun around, looking at all of the women. "I've been waiting, I've been patient, and I've spent a whole lot in funding waiting for you to hand over my artifacts. I paid to have the artifacts delivered directly to me. And where are they? Down here in this here cave."  
  
Sab glanced around the room and noticed all of the pieces placed strategically around the room. Cats, miniature ships, vessels, coins, jewelry boxes, all were covered in gold.  
  
"I've come to take back what is mine," he added.  
  
"None of this was ever yours in the first place," argued the blonde.  
  
The priestess stepped forward. "We needed them to complete our ritual..."  
  
"Complete hmm?" he laughed boisterously. "How about if I complete it for you, you Janus-faced whore?"  
  
Pulling his gun from inside his jacket, he aimed and a thunderous crack echoed throughout the stone room. Immediately, the priestess fell into her own pool of blood on the floor. Next he turned towards Mulder. "You know the part I love the most? All these lovely young ladies will take the rap for the theft and the part when I had the curators of those museums systematically murdered. Oh wait, that is if any of them survive. So I take it you two are the 'sacrifices'? Well lets finish this thing then."  
  
With that he turned and aimed towards Sab. Another crack echoed in the room and the blonde fell to the ground that had lept infront of Sab not a second before.  
  
"Damn," he smiled, "I hate it when I miss. Oh well, I always did like a challenge." He lifted his arm again and aimed with one eye closed but opened them both again when he gasped for breath and fell to his knees. Mulder watched as Bea pulled the blade of her dagger from Fillips' back. Her head lowered and she watched him for a moment before her blank gaze returned again.  
  
Mulder spoke to her forcefully as she stood next to him. "I know it's difficult but you've got to fight it. You've been drugged. It's a powerful hallucinogen that was found in each of the victims, remember? Those thoughts in your head, they fed them to you, they aren't your own."  
  
She turned slowly and looked at him and he smiled, even though her usually vibrant green eyes were now dull. He continued to speak to her, as he watched from the corner of his eye as the Daughters of Isis women were still crowded around their fallen members. "I know you can hear me somewhere in there," he said reassuringly. "You're stronger than it. We need you so we all can get out of here."  
  
Suddenly a wave of pain flashed across her face. "Chosen," was all she could say.  
  
This was worse than he had anticipated. The ancient mind control techniques laced with drugs was a powerful combination, and had been thusfar unbeatable for the other victims. She had already taken a life, now she was supposed to take her own. "No, no, not chosen. Listen to me, fight it. You have to..."  
  
She looked up, making him pause for a second. "They're coming," she told him.  
  
He listened, but heard nothing. "How do you know?"  
  
"Dream. Chosen." With that, she turned and escaped down one of the long, unlit corridors.  
  
Just then a barrage of commands echoed all through the room: "Get on the ground! Put your weapons down! Back up! Get down now! We need paramedics!" The entire team with the local PD flooded into the room to secure the area.  
  
Donovan saw one remaining woman hiding in the shadow behind the Anubis statue. "Put down your weapon and step away into the light. Do it now!" Donovan shouted as his keen eye and weapon in hand had the felon in sight. With agile feet, he circled their last suspect.  
  
The woman spoke in an unrecognizable language. "She says she's not coming out," translated Raven. "She's going to destroy us all. She was chosen to carry the explosive device apparently." She paced around the suspect too, following Donovan's lead, knowing if she had the chance, she was to take the woman down.  
  
"We can make this work," Donovan said, continuing negotiations with his weapon raised. Rav translated his words back into the archaic language.  
  
She came to face the woman again. "He said drop it!" Seeing the strange look in the assailant's eyes, she squeezed her fingertip against the trigger. Two shots sliced through the heavy air and the woman encircled by agents fell limply to the ground. She exhaled sharply knowing it was over.  
  
Racing through the mass of agents and suspects being handcuffed, Cody threw himself at Sab even before she was untied. "I'm so glad you're okay!" he said hugging her. Some agent came along and cut her free and she hugged him back.  
  
"I'm glad to see you too," she said with tears in her eyes. He picked her up off the ground and held her close. Paula, Heather, and Dee showed up too and they all group hugged.  
  
"Where's Bea?" Raven shouted to Donovan from across the room.  
  
He looked around the room, and not seeing her, went to Mulder who the paramedics had just begun looking at. "Back off, I'm fine," Mulder told them.  
  
"Where is Bea?" Donovan asked him, continuing to search the room.  
  
"Come on," Mulder replied, dashing out the way he had seen her go a moment before. "She's drugged and out there somewhere."  
  
Donovan made a motion with his hand to Raven and she was quick to follow them out. Paula looked up and saw his motion too so she followed Rav.  
  
As they made their way down the hall, it became apparent it was an exit because the walls would light up with a white flash every time it thundered. All four turned on their flashlights and darted out of the vine- covered doorway. The forest lit up like daylight as lightening struck again and then the large drops of rain began pouring down. Donovan motioned for each of them to take a different direction.  
  
As they paced systematically around the exit, a slash of lightning ripped across the sky illuminating a small grassy knoll where Rav saw a drenched figure standing completely still. She whistled above the pouring rain and the rest of the agents turned in her direction.  
  
As the lightening illuminated the trees again, Donovan saw the gleam of the dagger's blade pressed against Bea's midsection. Weaving in and out of the trees on agile feet, he was the first to reach her. As she took a deep breath in preparation, he came up behind her and held firmly onto her shaking hands.  
  
His tall frame bent slightly so that his lips might come close to her ear. "This case is over. The suspects are in custody. We're done here."  
  
With that, she relinquished her grip on the weapon which he took from her. She came to her knees and then bent forward. He came down next to her and wrapped his arms around her soaked, shaking body. As she began to weep real tears, the other agents present closed their circle and placed a soothing, reassuring hand on her.  
  
After several long moments, they all got to their feet. Donovan took her by the hands and pulled her up into the safety of his waiting arms. She clutched onto his shirt, still not completely sure where she was or what had happened. All she did know was that even as she almost fell over from the dizzying effect of the drug, he never let her go.  
  
"You're safe," he told her tilting his head a little to touch her forehead with his cheek as she curled up into him.  
  
After a long moment, she felt compelled to look up at him, so she pulled away just a little. Lifting a hand above her head, he shielded the drenching rain from her face. She noticed the water drops collecting at the ends of his black hair before they dripped down. Finally she came to his dark eyes that held a look of trepidation that she recognized was on her behalf, but also of relief. Seeing the intensity of his gaze, she knew they had really been through something just now.  
  
"I think I want to go home now," she said quietly.  
  
His eyes remained soft even though the muscles in his jaw clenched, knowing he would have to remain in his leadership role in order to orchestrate the removal of the last suspects in the cave before he could accommodate her request. But as she placed her hands on his upper arms and put her cheek against his shoulder, showing she was comforted just by his presence, he decided that role would not last very long.  
  
*****  
  
"Cody!" Sab said turning around on the couch to look behind her. He had tried to be so careful sneaking up behind her, but at the very last moment the creek of the hardwood floor gave him away. "What do you think you're doing?" she glared at him. Dee sitting next to her flipped the channel and continued to stare at the TV.  
  
"Um, nothing. Nothing." Glancing down at the ice cube in his hand meant to slide down the back of Sab's shirt, he quickly closed his hand. "Donovan, have you ever thought of carpeting your apartment?"  
  
Frank appeared from the kitchen with two huge bowls of popcorn and shrugged at him.  
  
Scooping up a handful of ice from her glass Sab lept up from the couch and dashed after Cody. "You're in for it this time!"  
  
"She's gunna nail him," Jake said sitting down next to Heather on the adjacent black leather couch against the wall. "Don't hurt him too bad Sab!"  
  
Heather laughed and grabbed a handful of popcorn that Donovan had just laid out on the table infront of them. She looked across the room and watched Alex and Monica playing cards on the dining table. "Come on people! Start it up. Dee, just push play already."  
  
"Can't do it," Dee replied, clicking the channels with expertise. "Got to wait until everybody gets here."  
  
"We're here already," called Paula from the kitchen doorway before she stalked across the room to where everyone was sitting. She had a tray of drinks that she set down on the table too.  
  
Rav and Bea followed her out carrying more drinks and boxes of Junior Mints and Milk Duds.  
  
"Wait a minute! Nobody move!" cried Paula once she stepped in the middle of the room.  
  
"What? What's wrong?" Heather asked sitting forward, with deep concern written across her face.  
  
Paula set down her tray. "Where's my coffee? Has anyone seen..."  
  
"I've got it," Bea smiled raising her hand to show the black mug she was holding.  
  
Heather sat back in her chair as the sound of breathing began again in the room. Her laughter became infectious around the rest of the room. Paula grabbed her cup giving Bea her most mockingly warning face before she settled on the couch by Heather and Jake. Cody and Sab dashed back into the room and fell into one of the reclining chairs ontop of each other.  
  
"So," said Rav, sitting down by Dee on the middle couch, "what's our viewing pleasure tonight?"  
  
Bea slid in next to Rav on the couch and scooped up a handful of popcorn which she stuck her tongue into and pulled out a kernel. "Where's Donovan?" Letting her head drop back, she saw him standing behind the couch.  
  
"I'll get the lights," he said and moved towards the panel by the door.  
  
By the time she looked forward again, Cody was standing infront of the group, blocking the TV. Being as dramatic and poised as he could be, he announced the film: "This little piece will make you laugh, make you cry, and possibly make you want to jump out the window."  
  
Rav huffed. "It's not an Oprah Winfrey special, is it?"  
  
Bea laughed out loud and elbowed her. "Good one Rav. Seriously though Cody, it's not that Zoolander movie you've been talking about is it?"  
  
"It's better," he grinned.  
  
"Better be," Dee breathed and continued to click the remote until Cody got the hint to move out of the way. As she pushed play, the lights in the apartment dimmed.  
  
The opening credits scrolled along in black and white until the title popped onto the screen: "Mr. Mummy Jr."  
  
"Cody!" exclaimed almost everyone at the same time before handfuls of popcorn were chucked his way.  
  
"Hey thanks, I didn't want to get up for popcorn anyway," he said picking a piece off his shirt and eating it.  
  
"This is so the opposite of funny, Cody," Bea said sitting forward with irritation and a grin. She pitched more popcorn at him and laughed.  
  
As everyone settled back down again, the star of the movie appeared onscreen dressed in ragged bandages. Just then through the darkness, long fingers wrapped around Bea's shoulders and she screamed.  
  
"Scary movie huh?" Donovan asked, leaving his hands on his shoulders, barely able to repress his smile.  
  
She remained completely still. "You want a piece of this, Frank?"  
  
"Ooooo," came from the other couch. Jake, Heather, and Paula knew she never used his first name, so she must be serious.  
  
Still not moving her shoulders, she pointed over to popcorn-covered Cody. "Because you see what happens when I get revenge."  
  
He arched an eyebrow and nodded his concession. "I stand corrected." He sat down on the last empty space on the couch and grabbed the box of Junior Mints. He turned just slightly and stared at Bea, waiting to see how long it would take for her to notice. The rest of the team became completely absorbed with the cheap film in a matter of moments and that is when she finally looked at him.  
  
"You're a jerk, you know that," she whispered with a smile across her lips just before she stole the mint from his hand.  
  
"I know." His features lifted as he smiled back at her.  
  
A knock at the door broke through the odd scratching noise on the audio of the tape and Bea lept up to get it. Pulling the door open, Mulder stood in the hallway in his black leather jacket and jeans.  
  
"Come on in," she said motioning him in. "The movie's terrible, but hilarious to pick out the mistakes."  
  
"Actually," he said stopping her, "my plane is about to leave in 30 minutes. But I just thought I'd stop by before I left."  
  
"Oh," she replied with the disappointment in her voice reconfirmed by the look on her face. She extended her hand which he shook. She'd grown accustomed to his presence, his wacky stories, his humor and she suddenly found a deep sense of loss. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Take care of yourself, alright?"  
  
"I will," he replied hugging her back. "Hey, you think you're getting rid of me that easily? Well you're not. We'll be in touch."  
  
She let go of him and smiled. "You work another case out here and you give me a call."  
  
"Pizza's on me," he winked at her. "But you're paying for drinks. They're usually more expensive."  
  
She laughed as he waved and stepped away from the door which she shut once he was gone. As she turned towards the full room, Raven stepped closer. "He was quite an asset for this case. And a close friend too hmm?"  
  
She nodded. "I'm lucky to have good friends here too, though." They moved back towards the couch and sat down. "Hey Heather, got any more Milk Duds?"  
  
"You know it," she answered, handing her the box.  
  
****************** Author Notes: A special thanks goes out to my TDHG's for lettin me use their names and for pushing me to keep writing even when I don't feel like it. Love ya girls! ;) Of course to SS for creating the UC characters, and to CC for allowing me to spend hours upon hours thinking of alien goo and Mulder. *sigh* lol 


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